Saturday, September 06, 2008

So that's it.

I'm never quite sure whether I love this picture of the Kayaker plummeting over the Victoria Falls or
not, but I too have taken the plunge too and shared my Booker prize
shortlist with you all now and many thanks to all the publishers who have shared the bounty with the prize-draw copies. Of course it's not over until Michael Portillo sings pronounces the winner on Cliff Richard's birthday October 14th and we all sing...well that's just too obvious, I couldn't possibly, go and have a singalong for yourself. (Remember how he had laryngitis and we were all worried sick for him? Well I was.)

In case you've forgotten, the six seven books on my shortlist

The White Tiger - Aravind Adiga

The Secret Scripture - Sebastian Barry (late arriving, not in the picture)

From A To X - John Berger

The Lost Dog - Michelle de Kretser

Sea of Poppies - Amitav Ghosh

The Clothes on Their Backs - Linda Grant

The Northern Clemency - Philip Hensher

I've tried to avoid other reviews of the longlist novels whilst I've been reading,
though it's often difficult to avoid the general feeling out there
about a particular book, but I wanted to read with no pre-conceptions, wanted to
know little or nothing about the authors and just see which books
headed straight into my consciousness and thence my heart. I am nothing
if not an involved and emotional reader and this always plays an
important part in how I then choose Booker hopefuls and doubtless why I have never yet chosen the winner. My head would choose a different list entirely.

Now that I've finished and chosen I've read the reviews and
this list has attracted a real mixture, from superlative to plain
vitriolic which seems par for the course, probably makes the whole book reading / litcrit / judging thing
as subjective as it ever was and evermore shall be.

Comments

So that's it.

I'm never quite sure whether I love this picture of the Kayaker plummeting over the Victoria Falls or
not, but I too have taken the plunge too and shared my Booker prize
shortlist with you all now and many thanks to all the publishers who have shared the bounty with the prize-draw copies. Of course it's not over until Michael Portillo sings pronounces the winner on Cliff Richard's birthday October 14th and we all sing...well that's just too obvious, I couldn't possibly, go and have a singalong for yourself. (Remember how he had laryngitis and we were all worried sick for him? Well I was.)

In case you've forgotten, the six seven books on my shortlist

The White Tiger - Aravind Adiga

The Secret Scripture - Sebastian Barry (late arriving, not in the picture)

From A To X - John Berger

The Lost Dog - Michelle de Kretser

Sea of Poppies - Amitav Ghosh

The Clothes on Their Backs - Linda Grant

The Northern Clemency - Philip Hensher

I've tried to avoid other reviews of the longlist novels whilst I've been reading,
though it's often difficult to avoid the general feeling out there
about a particular book, but I wanted to read with no pre-conceptions, wanted to
know little or nothing about the authors and just see which books
headed straight into my consciousness and thence my heart. I am nothing
if not an involved and emotional reader and this always plays an
important part in how I then choose Booker hopefuls and doubtless why I have never yet chosen the winner. My head would choose a different list entirely.

Now that I've finished and chosen I've read the reviews and
this list has attracted a real mixture, from superlative to plain
vitriolic which seems par for the course, probably makes the whole book reading / litcrit / judging thing
as subjective as it ever was and evermore shall be.

Constants...

Team Tolstoy

Team TolstoyA year-long shared read of War & Peace through the centenary year of Count Lyev Nikolayevich Tolstoy's death, starting on his birthday, September 9th 2010.
Everyone is welcome to board the troika and read along, meeting here on the 9th of every month to chat in comments about the book.

Team Tolstoy BookmarkDon't know your Bolkonskys from your Rostovs?
An aide memoire that can be niftily printed and laminated into a double-sided bookmark.

Port Eliot Festival

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